Senators dove deeper into the topic of state employee raises Tuesday morning, even as some warned harsh fiscal realities make higher compensation a challenging prospect.

Multiple members of the Senate budget committee voiced support for boosting the pay of workers who haven’t seen increases in years, but some hesitated amid uncertainty about where the money would come from.

"I think they deserve a pay raise," Sen. Dan Kerschen said, "but if we don’t have the money, I don’t know where we’re going to get it. We’ll wait to see tomorrow."

Kerschen, R-Garden Plain, was referring to an anticipated third day of discussion on the matter as the Ways and Means Committee tackles budget matters for fiscal 2018 and 2019.

Sen. Carolyn McGinn, R-Sedgwick, who chairs the panel, hopes to pass a judiciary budget bill out of committee Wednesday or Thursday.

On Monday, she proposed rethinking a potential $20 million that the judiciary wants for staff raises, suggesting the Legislature spread the money among the broader state workforce instead. The panel agreed, amending the bill.

"We haven’t addressed them for 10 years," McGinn said of state employee raises, "and I think it’s a shame that we haven’t."

State worker pay

Civil service employees who meet expectations traditionally might see two main types of increases to their paychecks. One comes from allowing them to move a step along the state’s pay scales.

In the past, this constituted a potential annual 2.5 percent increase, according to a briefing on the topic prepared for the 2017 legislative session. The other type happens when the Legislature approves general salary raises.

Historical data from the Kansas Legislative Research Department indicate steps ended in 2007, and before that, hadn’t occurred since 2001. Additionally, the Legislature hasn’t boosted the pay scale since a 2.5 percent bump to the base in 2009.

There are exceptions to this, such as market-based increases for some jobs in 2009, 2010 and 2011, $250 bonuses in 2014 and financial incentives for employees willing to give up civil service status. According to Gov. Sam Brownback’s office, other adjustments include raises for Kansas Highway Patrol troopers in fiscal 2014 and 2017 and for corrections officers and some state hospital workers in fiscal 2017.

McGinn’s proposal would mean 2 percent raises for most state employees, excluding highway troopers because of their recent pay adjustments.

A second option presented Tuesday by Sen. Laura Kelly, D-Topeka, would offer 6.5 percent for classified staff — those within the civil service system — and 1.5 percent for others. Kelly said this is because classified staff missed out on opportunities for increases that were open to their unclassified counterparts.

"There are folks who chose to stay in a classified position or perhaps their position wasn’t eligible to be unclassified," Kelly said.

Classified workers make up about 60 percent of the state’s workforce, a share that is shrinking because of incentives and legislation that are replacing the civil service with unclassified positions that lack the same job protections and aren’t compensated according to a pay scale.

Financial outlook

The Kansas Organization of State Employees argues appropriate compensation is important both to workers and the state.

"That affects the way the state competes for workers — and the more high-quality workers," said Brian Wood, an attorney for the union.

Wood said stagnant pay for years on end translates to a pay cut when the increasing expense of annual pension contribution rates, health costs and cost of living are factored in.

"Two percent — while it’s not as large as we’d like to see, it’s at least a starting point," he said, referring to McGinn’s proposal.

The average classified worker in Kansas has 14 years of service, is 47 years old and earns about $38,400, according to the 2017 legislative briefing.

But it remains unclear whether lawmakers will find sufficient interest to move forward, not just within the Senate budget committee, but on the House and Senate floors.

But he expressed unease at trying to fit the expense into fiscal 2018, which starts in just a few months.

Lawmakers are trying to close a budget shortfall of about half a billion dollars for 2018, and Denning indicated it will take time to see the fruits of new tax legislation.

"Any spending that we do in fiscal ’18 will be problematic because we have no funding source for it," Denning said, adding that the internal borrowing and transfers that are helping the state make it through 2017 won’t be options in 2018. "I think that’s what is sometimes being lost in translation."

Judiciary analysis

Before the Senate budget panel agreed to McGinn’s 2 percent proposal, the bill targeted the $20 million at pay hikes for judiciary staff.

This included increases ranging from about 5 to 22 percent — adjustments that would, among other changes, put district judge pay on a par with the averages in five nearby states.

The request is based on the results of a compensation study conducted last year by the National Center for State Courts.

The study pointed to significant gaps between salaries for Kansas court employees and those doing similar work elsewhere. Half of the district court staff were about 18 percent below market rates, the analysis found.

Kansas judiciary workers have received a 2 percent cost of living increase one year in the past eight years, and no other raises, the study says.

Asked about Brownback’s stance on the current proposals to raise pay for state workers, a spokesperson Tuesday said the governor will "review all legislation that comes to his desk."

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